2018’s 20 Most Anticipated Films

2017 may have been a great year for movies, but 2018 is already looking pretty solid itself. Even the slower months, like February and March, have some potential gems lurking and waiting for release. Will all of these movies pan out and live up to their hype? Unfortunately no. But if even half of these films turn out to be as good as they look then 2018 is looking like yet another memorable cinematic year.

Proud Mary (January 12)

Taraji P. Henson stars as the titular Mary, a hitwoman based out of Boston, in this update of classic crime tropes. This looks like just a fun, rollicking time at the movies, perfect for combatting those January blues. Seeing Henson kick roughly every ass is certain to be a breathtaking event.

Black Panther (February 16)

This Ryan Coogler directed entry into the MCU has the potential to be Marvel’s best film in years. Chadwick Boseman returns in his first appearance since Civil War back in 2016, and must deal with political infighting and outside agitation as he attempts to ascend to the throne of his nation of Wakanda. The trailers for this have all been stunning, setting the bar sky high for the MCU’s first of three movies set for release this year.

Annihilation (February 23)

Ex Machina auteur Alex Garland returns with this adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s novel. Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Oscar Isaac co-star in a film that looks every bit as terrifying and bizarre as anything Garland has written before. The novel on which the film is based was the first in a trilogy, and with any luck we’ll be seeing more from this wild story hitting theaters soon.

Red Sparrow (March 2)

Jennifer Lawrence reteams with Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence for this espionage thriller. Lawrence is ballerina Dominika Egorova, trained as a covert honeypot for a Russian spy agency. She finds herself up against CIA agent Nathaniel Nash (Joel Edgerton) in a conspiracy that threatens to unravel the relations and security of both the US and Russia.

A Wrinkle in Time (March 9)

Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of the classic children’s sci-fi novel was a long time coming, but the wait appears to be worth it. Bolstering an all-star cast, the trailers for the upcoming movie have showcased a richly imagined world featuring bold cinematic artistry that only bolsters DuVernay’s already impeccable record as a filmmaker. Madeleine L’Engle’s book is a much beloved, cross generational favorite for readers of all ages, and its adaptation looks every bit as incredible as you could hope.

Isle of Dogs (March 23)

Wes Anderson’s always been a quirky filmmaker, and this might be his quirkiest film yet. The director returns to the stop motion style of his The Fantastic Mr. Fox for this bizarre tale about a boy and his dog. Hard to tell what to make of the film just yet, but based on the first trailer alone we are more than intrigued.

Ready Player One (March 30)

Ernest Cline’s novel was batshit insane escapism at its best, and Steven Spielberg seems to have translated that insanity well to the screen. How many references can you spot in this trailer? What’s this movie about? Does it fucking matter? Look at it! I’m already waiting in line.

The New Mutants (April 6)

The X-Men universe is a goddamned mess, but as Logan proved last year, greatness is possible. This entry seems to be a pivot away from the mythos as we know it, introducing new characters, and placing it within a horror setting. Of course, whether this launches a new direction or reboot of the franchise seems largely irrelevant in the wake of the Disney takeover of Fox, but maybe we can get a taste of what might have been.

Update: As of January 11, 2018, Fox has pushed The New Mutants back to a February 2019 release.

A Quiet Place (April 6)

John Krasinski directed and stars in this thriller about a family who lives in total silence for fear of an unknown terror that attacks and kills any sound. The first trailer for A Quiet Place, which co-stars Emily Blunt, Krasinski’s real life wife, offered a chilling glimpse at what to expect from the film which might be one of the scariest movies released in some time.

The God Particle (April 20)

Is this another Cloverfield movie? Is it?! IS IT?! 

Avengers: Infinity War (May 4)

Billed as the culmination of a decade’s worth of leg work, Infinity War brings every character from the MCU together to battle against Thanos (Josh Brolin). This promises to be a game changer for the blockbuster franchise and leads directly into next year’s yet-to-be-titled Avengers 4, which sets up the future of the universe. All we wanna know is: Who’s gonna die?!

Solo (May 25)

At this point, it’s morbid curiosity more than anything. The behind-the-scenes drama that marred the production of Disney’s second entry into their non-saga series of Star Wars films, doesn’t necessarily bode well for the film, and neither do the lingering questions of necessity, but Disney hasn’t made a bad Star Wars yet. Maybe they’ll surprise us. (It’s also worth noting that we haven’t even seen a trailer for the new movie with just about four months until its release. This has led to some speculation that the film might be pushed back to December, where Star Wars has dominated for the last three years.)

Ocean’s 8 (June 8)

Less a remake than a spinoff, Sandra Bullock stars as Debbie Ocean, estranged sister of Danny, who arranges a crew of crafty ladies to pull off a heist at the Met Gala in New York. The Ocean’s series is one of the more fun and remarkable series of heist films, and if this can manage even half of Ocean’s 11’s charm then it’ll be one of the most fun movies of the year.

M:I 6- Mission Impossible (July 27)

With the return of Christopher McQuarrie, who wrote and directed 2015’s impressively fun Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation, the sixth installment of the perennially Tom Cruise series already shows massive amounts of promise. Honestly, these movies are always a blast and good for at least one watch. And somehow every release seems to only get better. Keep ‘em coming, I say.

The Predator (August 3)

Shane. Black. Wrote. And. Directed. A. Predator. Movie. Oh. My. God. You. Guys.

The Equalizer 2 (August 10)

If you never saw 2014’s The Equalizer, rectify that. If you didn’t like it, who hurt you? The remake of the 80s TV series of the same name reteamed Denzel Washington with his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua and allowed Washington to deliver a lowkey and incredible performance as a former CIA operative turned doer of good deeds. Violent, rich with subtext, thrilling, and amazing, it had everything it needed to become a franchise and, thank god, it finally will be.

Venom (October 5)

Sony’s deal with Marvel to allow Spider-Man to be introduced into the MCU was convoluted, and still allowed Sony to control other Marvel characters they owned, including Spidey nemesis, Venom. There’s been some debate on how this will all work—is Spider-Man going to play into this film? Is Venom in the MCU? Is this a different universe? What?—but Tom Hardy is playing the title character so whatever.

Halloween (October 19)

There’s a bizarre pedigree that comes with this remake/reboot/sequel to John Carpenter’s original slasher classic (which will apparently ignore everything after Halloween 2, including Rob Zombie’s two wildly undervalued remake films from the aughts). Comedian Danny McBride co-wrote the script with director David Gordon Green, and the two promise that this film is a return to form for the Shatner-masked murderer who’s been terrifying film lovers for four decades now. Also Jamie Lee Curtis returns, reprising the character that rocketed her to fame in the 70s. Can they pull it off? Who knows, but it might be fun to watch them try.

Creed 2 (November 21)

Hot take: Creed is the best Rocky movie. Though director Ryan Coogler was a little too busy to helm this outing, Sylvester Stallone has promised that the latest entry into the spinoff series will be every bit as satisfying as the original, and he’s even hinted that this film will find the young Adonis Creed facing off against Ivan Drago, the man who killed his father all the way back in Rocky IV.

Bohemian Rhapsody (December 25)

Mr. Robot star Remi Malek portrays Queen’s Freddie Mercury in this long-gestating biopic that should, god willing, finally see the light of day this Christmas. Of course, it might be hard to overcome the decade plus hype for the film, which has gone through a veritable clown car of castings, writers, and directors (including, most recently, Bryan Singer, who was fired from the film late last year for, well, being Bryan Singer). Suffice it to say, they’re under pressure but maybe, just maybe, they will rock us.

Related Content

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter